


Death of a Bachelor

by novocaine_sea



Category: Free!
Genre: Alcohol, Drunk Singing, Drunken Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novocaine_sea/pseuds/novocaine_sea
Summary: It's Natsuya's birthday and he's insistent on singing to his heart's content, much to Nao's chagrin. Nao is just trying to get through the remainder of the night without letting his heart get the best of him.





	Death of a Bachelor

**Author's Note:**

> How cliche is it to use this Panic at the Disco song? :') I love it!  
> Happy birthday to my favorite disaster gay, Natsuya <3 Nao loves ya baby

“ _ I’m walking the long road, watching the sky fall, _ ” Natsuya sings, extremely off key, as he walks down the street with a bottle of champagne in hand. It had once belonged to the restaurant they dined at for Natsuya’s birthday, but since the young man was falling asleep at the table, Nao thought it was time they go. Natsuya just couldn’t leave the champagne behind.

“ _ The lace in your dress, tingles my neck, how do I  _ **_live?_ ** ” Natsuya is basically screeching right now, voice cracking on the last word, and Nao guides him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, I think that’s enough of that lest you want to wake up the entire neighborhood.” Nao’s voice is gentle and Natsuya grumbles, wrenching away from him. He stumbles and almost falls, but waves the champagne in the air.

“Save this!” Natsuya is completely plastered.

Nao sighs and wishes he hadn’t become the babysitter of the night. He wanted a nice, quiet dinner. Not drunk Natsuya.

He loves his best friend dearly, and is happy that he gets to spend time with Natsuya while he’s in Japan. But he didn’t want it like this. Nao’s ideal evening would be the two of them ordering take out and watching corny movies, like they would in high school. But Natsuya really loved champagne, and claimed this one restaurant had the best in all of Japan.

Nao takes the champagne bottle from him and laces their fingers together so Natsuya can’t wander off, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach as he does so. 

“Wha...” Natsuya blinks as the champagne is taken from his grip, “Why’d ya do tha?”

Nao shakes his head and forces a smile instead of a sigh, “You just told me to take it from you.”

Natsuya murmurs angrily to himself and swings their hands as they walk. Nao doesn’t actually know where Natsuya is staying but his apartment is kind of far. At least the night is cool, as he doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to get Natsuya on a train. It may be too late for that anyway.

The birthday boy starts humming again, off key and most likely the wrong set of lyrics. Though Nao doesn’t know, because Natsuya had been singing in English and Nao’s english isn’t that great. Nao is willing to learn if it means he’s able to understand half of what Natsuya is singing. 

“Did I tell ya wha happen in Australia?” Natsuya slurs and Nao raises an eyebrow. He most certainly did not know what had happened in Australia and hopes he won’t regret hearing this.

“I met one of Ikuya’s friens!” Natsuya blinks at what he had said, “I should call ‘im.” He hiccups a little and makes to grab his phone but Nao nudges him.

“He’s probably asleep, you wouldn’t want to wake him, right?” 

“Ah, no....” Natsuya pouts and thinks for a moment, seemingly forgetting where he had left off.

“You met his friend in Australia?” Nao presses. He’s not sure what one of Ikuya’s friends would be doing in Australia.

“Ah!” Natsuya snaps as it all comes back to him, “I don’ remember his name, but he has nice hair and pointy teeth.” He makes a show of display his own teeth but is disappointed when he doesn’t have his own set of pointy teeth. Before Nao knows it, or can prepare himself, Natsuya’s fingers are in his hair and treating it as if it’s delicate china. Nao gapes and stares into Natsuya’s hooded gaze, a drunken but clear look in his eyes.

“Your hair’s’much nicer than his.” The fingers leave his hair and Nao misses the tender touch. He hopes that Natsuya doesn’t pick up his blush under the light of the streetlamps.

“How’d you meet him?” 

Natsuya snickers mischievously, and fixes his gaze on his friend. There’s hair in his eyes but he has no care for that, “Swimming. He bough’ me dinner! And drinks... ah drinks...” He hones in on the champagne that Nao is carrying for him and against better judgement, Nao hands it back to him.

“You can’t keep having boys buy you dinner, Natsuya,” Nao states, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, “You’re going to get a bad reputation.”

“You’re going to get a bad reputation,” Natsuya mocks and takes a long swig of champagne, missing his mouth a little. A stream of alcohol runs from the corner of his mouth and drips down his chin onto his shirt. Nao reaches up without thinking to wipe it away. “They like buying me dinner.”

Nao laughs at that, breathy and giddy, “I’m sure they do.”

“I mean, you just bough’ me dinner and you like me.”

“What?” Panic surges in Nao’s veins and he stares with a pinched gaze at his friend. He does like Natsuya. Natsuya has been around forever and they’re best friends. But lately, thinking about him has caused butterflies to explode in the pit of stomach. Nao doesn’t know what changed. Maybe distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

Natsuya untangles their fingers and drapes himself over his shoulder, a big grin on his face, “You’re my best friend, you know that?” Natsuya is completely coherent now, even as he places a sloppy kiss to Nao’s cheek.

“Natsuya-”

“Ah, friends!” Natsuya shouts to the skies and sings, “ _ The death of a bachelor, Oh oh! Seems so fitting for happily ever after~. How could I ask for more? A lifetime of laughter. At the expense of the death of a bachelor. _ ” A couple of crows fly from the trees and into the sky from Natsuya’s atrocious singing and Nao feels as if his eardrum burst from it.

“Nao!” Natsuya yells before Nao can tell him to quiet down. Nao winces but lets Natsuya continue, “Be my happily ever after.”

“W-What?” Nao’s usual kind smile is gone, replaced with a confused and embarrassed look.

Natsuya spreads his arms out and stops walking, closing his eyes. Nao stares at him. Even drunk, Natsuya looks beautiful like this. It’s true happiness. True, drunken happiness.

“A lifetime of laughter, at the expense of the death of a bachelor,” Natsuya repeats the lyrics in Japanese this time and Nao’s blush grows darker.

“I won’t take guys to dinner anymore. I want you to be the only one taking me out!” Natsuya laughs, bright and bubbly. 

Nao hangs his head, a small smile crossing his face. He chuckles, “What if I want you to take  _ me  _ to dinner?”

“That too. Death of a bachelor, I can’t just be having cute guys treat me to dinner, I have to treat them too. But only you.” He points in Nao’s face as the latter lifts his head to look him in the eye.

They’re almost at Nao’s apartment now and Nao once again takes his hand to steer him in the right direction. Getting Natsuya up the stairs is an ordeal in itself but he manages to do it and deposits Natsuya onto his couch. He takes the champagne into the fridge and gets him a glass of water.

“Drink.”

Natsuya whines but he does it anyway, knowing somewhere in the drunken recesses of his mind that it’s the best thing to do. Nao leaves the room to get him a change of clothes and a blanket, but comes back to Natsuya passed out on the couch.

Nao smiles fondly as he lays the blanket over Natsuya. “Death of a bachelor, huh?” He’ll have to see if Natsuya even remembers his proclamation, but for now, Nao goes to sleep with his heart full.

(And he wakes up to breakfast in bed, and Natsuya holding up his end of the promise). 

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/novocaine_sea) || [Tumblr](http://novocaine-sea.tumblr.com/)


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